love
The Pathfinder: Life’s Light
The Pathfinder: Out of your shell
My Poem “Warrior”
When I was thirteen years old,
I distinctly remember
wishing that I had a time machine
so that I could travel through time -
and, within the blink of an eye,
it seems as if thirty years have gone by,
and here I am looking back
and wondering how everything
could have changed so much...
when I compare my life as a boy
to my life now as a man -
although some things have not changed -
when I look around and I remember
who is missing and who it was
who made me who I am,
I cannot help myself wishing
that I could go back
and get one more minute
with the people
who will always matter to me
and those who I will always love.
Christmases and birthdays
over time merge into one...
when we are younger
we feel as if we have
all the time in the world
to do anything and to go anywhere
we can imagine...
as we get older most people
do not want to be reminded
of how old they are,
because every day seems
to pass faster than the beats of a drum...
as the person who we see in the mirror
changes before our eyes
each of us look at ourselves
and wonder where all that time
went in between us
asking questions to our parents and us having to face
the scars of life that can be seen
upon our reflection.
Every year, I have always had
something to remind me
of how lucky I am to have the family
and the friends that I have had in my life,
and so many people whom I have met
have inspired me in more ways
than I could ever put into words -
but because of what I have seen,
and because of what I have been through
personally over the last few years,
I would be lying if I said that
I had not begun to wonder
whether my time was almost up
and whether my purpose in life
had perhaps already been fulfilled.
Sometimes I look back
and I see a younger version of myself
looking back at me -
someone who had yet to suffer
all the heartbreak and the loss that I have -
and I want to tell them the truth:
that things only get harder
as you get older;
however, if and when I try
to send a message back through time
to who I was in the past,
I always just tell myself that
things will be OK
but that there will be days
when things will change
beyond our control -
so make sure to be brave
and to never forget that
everything happens for a reason,
and one day you will realize
that you are someone
who was always going to be
who you were supposed to be:
someone who will always do
what must be done,
no matter what -
because, just like your father,
you are a warrior.
The Pathfinder: Don’t Stop
The Pathfinder: Resource Allocation
The Pathfinder: Return of the Poet
My Poem “Light and Dark”
There will always be things
that happen in life
that will forever be
out of our control...
there will always be things
that happen in the universe
that will happen whether
we observe them or not...
there will always be things
that happen to people
at a particular time,
in a particular place,
that will bind them to one another...
there will always be things
that happen that will have
a profound effect on people
in different ways.
At the time of an eclipse -
when people gather together
to watch the moon align perfectly
in between the Earth and the Sun
and obscure its light for a short time -
people young and old
can be brought to tears,
the usually talkative can be silenced,
and those who wonder
whether we are alone in the universe
look up and are given a sign,
as the Moon casts its shadow upon the Earth,
and there is always a palpable mixture
of thoughts, feelings, and emotions
that rise to the surface
of the collective consciousness
of individuals who may have
been looking forward
to what is taking place
for a long time -
because witnessing an eclipse
is, and has always been,
considered special, sacred, and momentous -
because it is an occurrence of significance
that is both predictable, and yet rare.
After light returns
to a world that has been
veiled in darkness,
there is always a universal wave
of energy and excitement
that washes over people...
when the details and the colours
of the world can once again
be seen as clearly and as vibrantly,
as they are meant to be,
people can feel a sensation
of renewal, of reinvigoration,
and as if they want to make plans
and achieve new goals...
after an eclipse, people always
look at everyone around them
and appreciate them more
than before for some reason -
most likely because they realize
what the presence of certain people
in their lives means to them,
and because they experienced
what it is like to not see others
at the same time that they felt
they were still right besides them.
After experiencing a shared moment
that has a profound impact
on the way that people
perceived one another
and their connection to the universe,
when people return to their daily lives
a fragment of what was witnessed
always remains within someone
and occasionally makes them wonder
what lasting impression
they may have been left
upon those whom they have met -
perhaps akin to the importance
of the sun being eclipsed by the moon,
and those who were there to observe it
who were instantly awestruck
as they watched day become night
and light become dark.
